CDC: No Drop in Smokeless Tobacco Use Among U.S. Workers

Friday, June 6, 2014 (Last Updated: 06/09/2014)

FRIDAY, June 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Cigarette smoking continues to decline among Americans who work, but use of smokeless tobacco has held steady since 2005, according to research published in the June 6 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Certain types of jobs -- construction and mining, especially -- are hotbeds of smokeless tobacco use, according to a study conducted by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. For the report, researchers analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey. About 19 percent of mining workers acknowledged use of smokeless tobacco, the survey found. Adults involved in oil and gas extraction also reported heavy use of smokeless tobacco, with about 11 percent using the products.

Looking at tobacco use over five years, the researchers found a decline in cigarette smoking among working adults -- from about 22 percent in 2005 to 19 percent in 2010. But use of smokeless tobacco products such as chewing tobacco and snuff inched up slightly -- from 2.7 percent in 2005 to 3 percent in 2010. The percentage of cigarette smokers who also use smokeless tobacco was relatively unchanged during the study period -- about 4 percent, the researchers said.

"These findings can help health professionals direct assistance to working men and women to stop using smokeless tobacco, a known cause of oral, esophageal, and pancreatic cancer," the researchers from the CDC reported.